Football

Benford, Brown receive top OVC honors, nine named to all-OVC teams

Nov 22, 2011

Most OVC honors for Golden Eagles since 1999
season

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. --Tennessee
Tech, one of the three league champions this season, took home two
of the four major individual Ohio Valley Conference postseason
football awards and had nine total All-OVC selections in voting
conducted by league head coaches and sports information directors
and announced on Tuesday.

Tennessee Tech senior wide receiver Tim Benford
was named Offensive Player of the Year while Golden Eagle head
coach, Watson Brown, was named the OVC Roy Kidd
Coach of the Year. In the other major awards, Tennessee State
senior linebacker Rico Council was tabbed
Defensive Player of the Year while Tennessee State quarterback
Michael German earned the Freshman of the Year
award.

Four Golden Eagle players were included on the all-OVC first-team,
four earned second-team honors and one player, freshman Austin
Tallant, was named to the OVC All-Newcomer team. First-team
selections from Tech are Benford, offensive guard Scott Schweitzer,
defensive ened/inebacker Marcus Edwards, and cornerback Richmond
Tooley. Tech players on the second-team include runningback Dontey
Gay, defensive tackle Travis Adkins, rover Will Johnson and punter
Nick Campbell.

Tech's total of eight first- and second-team selections is the
most for the Golden Eagles since the 1999 season when eight players
were honored. The 2011 all-OVC first-team included 13 seniors, 10
juniors and three sophomores, while the second-team had 15 senior
selections, eight juniors and three sophomores.

Benford is only the fourth wide receiver to earn the OVC Offensive
Player of the Year award and first since 2003 (Efrem Hill of
Samford). He also becomes just the second Tennessee Tech player to
earn the award and first since running back Larry Schreiber
received the honor in 1969. One of the top wide receivers in OVC
history, Benford hauled in 58 catches for 826 yards and five
touchdowns in 10 games in 2011, despite being consistently double
and tripled teamed in games. He ranks 22nd nationally in
receptions/game (5.80), 26th in receiving yards/game (82.6) and
29th in total receiving yards (826). Four times this season he had
100 or more yards in a game, including against Tennessee State when
he had 10 receptions for 122 yards. He also had six catches for 131
yards and two scores against Maryville College, eight catches for
124 yards at Eastern Illinois and six catches for 116 yards and a
touchdown against Murray State. His play helped Tennessee Tech to
its first OVC Championship since the 1975 season and its first-ever
NCAA playoff berth. For his career Benford has 210 catches for
3,007 yards, both of which rank third in OVC history. Benford also
earned All-OVC first-team honors for the third-straight season,
after being named OVC Freshman of the Year in 2008.

His team picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll, Brown led
Tennessee Tech to the program’s 10th OVC Championship but
first since the 1975 season. TTU finished the regular season 7-3
overall, 6-2 in OVC play and ranked No. 20 in the FCS Coaches Poll
and No. 21 in the Sports Network poll (the team’s first
national ranking since the 2002 season). The team ascended to as
high as 15th in the polls during the year and earned the
OVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championship, the
program’s first-ever playoff berth. TTU lost just two games
by a combined three points to Football Championship Subdivision
(FCS) opponents in 2011. The seven victories overall were the most
for the team since the 2001 season and the Golden Eagles had a
winning record for just the third time in the last decade. The
Conference championship was the first for Brown, who is in his 27th
season as a Division I head coach (with previous stops at Austin
Peay, Cincinnati, Rice, Vanderbilt and UAB). Brown, in his fifth
year at TTU, is the third different Golden Eagle head coach to earn
OVC Coach of the Year honors, joining Don Wade (who won the honor
in 1971, 1972 and 1975) and Jim Ragland (who won the award in 1992
and 1993).

Tabbed
the OVC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in July, Council
proved the voters correct as he earned the postseason honor as
well. He becomes just the second Tennessee State player to earn the
award, joining defensive end Lamar Carter (1999). In 11 games
Council netted 87 tackles (50 solo), 8.0 tackles-for-loss, 3.5
sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and
two fumble recoveries. He had 12 tackles in a game at Eastern
Kentucky, 11 against Jackson State and 10 against each Murray State
and UT Martin. His play helped Tennessee State, who was winless in
OVC play last year, to a 4-4 Conference mark this season (which
tied the team for fifth place in the OVC after being picked eighth)
and the Sgt. York Championship. Council finished his four-year
career with 295 tackles, which was second in TSU history behind
only his head coach, Rod Reed (who had 406 stops at TSU from
1985-88).

German,
a finalist for the Sports Network’s Jerry Rice Award, started
the season as the Tennessee State backup, seeing limited action in
the first three games before getting his first career start at Air
Force on Sept. 24. After that contest against a Football Bowl
Subdivision (FBS) foe, German returned to FCS competition and had
three-straight games of 230-plus passing yards and two touchdowns,
earning OVC Newcomer of the Week honors after each game. He
finished the season with two games of 250-plus yards, including
passing for 263 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over UT
Martin; he earned his fourth OVC Newcomer of the Week honor of the
year after that contest. For the season German completed 140-of-250
passes for 1,899 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards
and two additional scores. His play helped Tennessee State to four
wins in its last six games, a 4-4 OVC record and the Sgt. York
Championship (contested between the four OVC schools from
Tennessee). Overall TSU ranked 24th nationally in total offense
(416.0 yards/game) and 32nd in scoring offense (30.45 points/game).
German is the second Tennessee State player to earn Freshman of the
Year honors since the award was first given out in 2004, joining
running back Javarris Williams (2005).

The
All-OVC first-team was highlighted by Benford at wide receiver.
Joining the three-time All-OVC selection on the first-team was
Murray State junior quarterback Casey Brockman who
set the OVC record for completions in a season (316) while passing
for 3,276 yards, which was the second-most yards in OVC
single-season history. In a win over Tennessee State during the
year Brockman set OVC single-game records for passing yards (600)
and touchdown passes (7) and capped his junior campaign by throwing
for a touchdown, running for a touchdown and catching a touchdown
in a win over Southeast Missouri (a feat that earned him National
Player of the Week honors for the second time this season).
Brockman, who threw for 25 touchdowns, ranked sixth nationally in
total offense (315.45 yards/game) and points responsible for
(16.91/game). Eastern Kentucky junior running back Matt
Denham was the best running back in the FCS over the last
seven weeks of the season, averaging 193.0 rushing yards/game
(including four 200-plus yard games) over that time period in
helping the Colonels go 6-1 in those games and earn an at-large bid
to the FCS playoffs. Overall he ranked third nationally in rushing
during the year (131.4 yards/game). Due to a tie in voting he is
joined at running back by two individuals, Jacksonville State
junior Washaun Ealey and Murray State senior
Mike Harris. Ealey ranked second in the OVC in
rushing (1,082 yards) and scored eight rushing touchdowns while
Harris was third in the OVC in rushing (1,018 yards) and scored 13
rushing touchdowns while also catching 30 passes and scoring a
receiving touchdown. Tennessee State senior wide out Calvin
McNairl started his career as a quarterback but finished
it by catching 42 passes for 742 yards and seven touchdowns in
2011; his 749 receiving yards during the year ranked 38th
nationally. UT Martin senior Kenny Jones was the
first-team selection at tight end after catching 25 passes for 334
yards and five touchdowns and also scoring a rushing touchdown. The
offensive line included three Eastern Kentucky teammates in junior
center O.J. Enabosi and junior tackles
Aaron Adams and Patrick Ford;
that trio was joined by Tennessee Tech senior guard Scott
Schweitzer (left) and UT Martin senior guard
Michael Mancini.

The first-team defense was headlined by Council, one of three
players who were second-team All-OVC selections last year and who
moved up to the first-team this season. The defensive line
selections included two Eastern Kentucky teammates in sophomore
Anthony Brown and senior Emory
Attig. The Colonel duo combined for 115 tackles, 18.0
tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks this season as EKU led the OVC and
ranked fourth nationally in turnover margin (+1.45/game). Joining
the duo on the defensive line is Jacksonville State senior
Jamison Wadley and Tennessee Tech junior
Marcus Edwards. ( left) Wadley had 45 tackles and
10.5 tackles-for-loss during the season in helping JSU to a share
of the OVC Championship. Edwards ranked third in the league in
sacks (5.0) while also adding 39 tackles. Joining Council at
linebacker were Eastern Kentucky sophomore Ichiro
Vance and Southeast Missouri State junior Blake
Peiffer. Vance had 78 tackles, including 9.5
tackles-for-loss, during the season and was named National
Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11 following his 19-tackle
performance against Missouri State. Peiffer set the Redhawk
single-season record for tackles (151), netting 79 solo and 72
assisted tackles during the year. His 13.73 tackles/game ranked
second nationally and he had double-digit tackles in each of his
last nine games, including a season-high 19 against Jax State
(which matched Vance for the most in a game in the OVC this
season). The first-team defensive backs included Austin Peay senior
Amius Smith, Eastern Kentucky junior
Justin Bell, Tennessee State senior Joseph
Wylie and Tennessee Tech senior Richmond
Tooley (right). Smith had 80 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss
and two fumble recoveries during the season for the Governors. Bell
picked off two passes for the Colonels during the campaign,
including returning one 79 yards for a touchdown; the junior also
added 48 tackles and five pass breakups. Wylie had 66 tackles, an
interception that he returned 59 yards for a touchdown and a forced
fumble in 2011. Tooley had 72 tackles, two interceptions, five pass
breakups and a fumble return for a touchdown.

The first-team All-OVC specialists
included UT Martin junior kicker Cody Sandlin,
Eastern Kentucky sophomore punter Jordan
Berry and EKU senior return specialist Jeremy
Caldwell. Sandlin ranked 27th nationally in scoring during
the season, averaging 7.91 points/game. He converted 14-of-17 field
goals for the high-octane Skyhawks, including one from 53 yards
which was the longest inthe OVC
during the season. Berry earned first-team honors after being a
second-team and All-Newcomer pick as a freshman.
Heaveraged
40.24 yards/punt for a team that ranked 16th nationally in net
punting (37.11 yards/punt).Berry had a long punt of 67 yards during
the season and 22 of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Caldwell earned the first return specialist honors of his career
after averaging 23.5 yards/kickoff return (44th nationally) and
scoring a touchdown.

The All-OVC second-team offensive unit was
highlighted by Southeast Missouri State senior
quarterbackMatt Scheible, who became
the first player in OVC history to pass for 4,000 and rush for
2,000 yards in a career during the season. Scheible finished the
season with 1,459 yards and 12 touchdowns passing and 967 rushing
yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He finished his career
with 7,436 yards of total offense, fifth-most in OVC history. The
running back selections were Austin Peay senior Ryan
White(1,101 yards, six touchdowns) and
Tennessee Tech senior (left) Dontey Gay (1,009
yards, 15 touchdowns, ranked eighth nationally in scoring with 9.0
points/game). The wide receivers included a pair of juniors in
Eastern Kentucky’s Tyrone Goard (38 catches,
11 touchdowns) and UT Martin junior newcomer Quentin
Sims (54 catches, 712 yards, 10 touchdowns). The tight end
spot was filled by Eastern Illinois junior Von
Wise (32 catches, 348 yards, two touchdowns). The
second-team offensive line included three players from Tennessee
State in junior center ShermanCarter, junior tackle Rogers
Gaines and sophomore guard Kadeem
Edwards. Murray State senior tackle Raymond
Hopson and Eastern Illinois senior guard Eric
Zink rounded out the line.

Eleven
players were selected to the All-OVC Newcomer squad. To be selected
to the team an individual had to be a first-year player (freshman
or transfer) in the OVC. One of the selections was Tennessee
State’s German, who was named OVC Freshman of the Year. The
team also included four players who were either first or
second-team selections including Jacksonville State running back
Ealey (first-team), Murray State linebackers Small and Huzzie (each
second-team) and UT Martin wide out Sims (second-team). The
remaining All-Newcomer selections were Eastern Kentucky junior
linebacker Kevin Hamlin (62 tackles, an OVC-best
four interceptions), Jacksonville State freshman offensive center
Max Holcombe (graded out at 91%, 56 knockdowns),
Southeast Missouri State redshirt freshman wide receiver/return
specialist Spencer Davis (ranked 24th nationally
in all-purpose yards with 138.7/game), Tennessee State redshirt
freshman defensive back Steven Godbolt (37
tackles, two interceptions, 7 PBU’s), Tennessee Tech freshman
defensive back (near left) Austin Tallant (a
team-high 76 tackles) and UT Martin sophomore linebacker
Ben Johnson (a team-best 96 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3.5
sacks, two interceptions and an OVC-best three forced fumbles).

2011 All-OVC
Football Teams and Award Winners

OVC Offensive Player of the Year: Tim Benford (WR), Tennessee
TechOVC Defensive Player of the Year: Rico Council
(LB), Tennessee StateOVC Freshman of the Year: Michael German (QB),
Tennessee StateOVC Roy Kidd Coach of the Year: Watson Brown, Tennessee
Tech